The next full moon, the second this month, is a celestial rarity. It will also be bigger and brighter than usual.
The blue moon is the second of two full moons in a single month. Each month usually hosts only one full moon, but blue moons sometimes arise because the lunar cycle is 29.5 days long — just short of the length of an average calendar month. This difference means that some months see two full moons.
That is exactly what will happen in August: The first full moon popped up on Aug. 1, and the second will come the evening of Aug. 30.
Category: Science
Source: NYTimes Science
